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24 September, 2025The shipbuilding and shipbreaking action group met online on 16 September to build on progress made at last year’s world conference in Glasgow.
Around 40 participants from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, the UK, USA, Chile, Brazil, Finland, Denmark, Norway, India and Bangladesh took part in a rich discussion that reflected the growing international cooperation in the sector.
The shipbuilding industry is characterised by strong but uneven growth. Although orders for container ships remain high, this part of the industry is volatile due to the effect tariffs are expected to have on world trade. There is growing investment in defence, as well as international defence cooperation, which pose challenges for unions because of underlying geopolitical tension.
The industry is characterised by a shortage of skilled workers, and the use of precarious migrant workers remains an issue. Planned international transfers of workers for specialist work is increasingly common. Glenn Thompson of the Australian Federation of Shipbuilding Unions led a discussion on international union cooperation agreements, where unions agree to support each other’s members when working abroad.
ILO head of unit Casper Edmonds explained that East Asia dominates shipbuilding with 93 per cent of new build tonnage, with 47 per cent of this built in China. However, Europe has a specialist industry that builds highly complex vessels and is economically important.
The majority of the workforce remains older, male and blue collar, with women accounting for up to nine per cent of workers, and young workers just 16 per cent. There is significant variation in employment conditions, with good wages for formal workers, but worse conditions for precarious migrants.
The US is planning to massively increase its shipbuilding capacity, and to build polar vessels that can take advantage of Northern shipping lanes that are growing in importance due to the retreat of Artic ice. US unions dismissed Trump’s plan to Make Shipbuilding Great Again as an attempt to build ships cheaply with non-union labour, saying that the industry faces great uncertainty.
The ILO anticipates that the decarbonisation plan set by the IMO could lead to the potential creation of up to four million green jobs in shipbuilding, retrofitting, alternative fuel production and bunkering.
Japanese unions reported that the country’s low birthrate means that there is a shortage of workers in the industry. The unions have developed a policy package to revive shipbuilding, including through government investment and partnerships with the private sector, listing ship hulls as critical materials, developing technology to improve ship design, establishing training hubs and accepting more foreign workers.
The Korean union KMWU reported that the recent passage of labour law reform was born out of a 51 day shipyard strike, showing that despite repression, the shipyards remain a bedrock of trade union militancy. The action group passed a resolution in support of Hyundai Heavy Branch Chair BAEK, Ho-Seon who is carrying out a sit in protest on a crane nearly 60 metres in the air amid a strike.
In UK shipyards, five Type 26 frigates are being built, while another five have been ordered by the Norwegian navy. In Finland, two cruise ships are being built, while Norway produces wind turbine servicing vessels.
The meeting discussed the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC) and the effect it is having on workers’ safety. The Convention is a major victory for a global campaign supported by affiliates in the sector. In India, the industry is largely HKC compliant and ready for the anticipated shipbreaking boom. However, in Bangladesh, a series of accidents shows that paper compliance has not filtered down to a change in working practice. This was confirmed when reports of eight workers being seriously injured in an explosion arrived during the course of the meeting.
Sector director Walton Pantland said:
“I am impressed with the commitment and solidarity shown by our affiliates. There is a willingness to work together to drive up wages and conditions globally, and international cooperation is having tangible results.”
Photo credit: ILO, Flickr